Existing sport training equipment is suitable for training in specific areas. Typically, sports training equipment is dedicated to particular exercises, such as leg exercises by squats, or chest exercises by pushing against resistance with the arms. Common to all the equipment used today (with exception of equipment using cables) is that the user moves a bar or handle in either a straight line or along the perimeter of a circle.
Different exercises need different degrees of freedom in the movement. Take as an example an exercise like weight lifting. The path of movement of the athlete's hands is not necessarily along a linear or circular path.
For an exercise such as an arm curl, a machine with a one dimensional movement of the bar would not be appropriate. The invention described in this application allows the athlete executing arm curls to move the bar along the same path as when he uses free bar bells.
It is important, especially in professional sports training, that an athlete's strength and range of motion be capable of reliable measurement, so that his performance may be compared with his past performance or the performance of others. This implies that the load or resistance against which the athlete is working be variable, so that all variables but one can be controlled and measured. These variables include displacement of the exercise bar, speed of movement, acceleration, and the force exerted by the athlete. The power generated and the energy expended during the exercise may also be relevant to particular sports training programs.
There is thus a need for an exercise apparatus that allows free movement of the athlete's body during an exercise, allows for the execution of different exercises without substantial changes in the configuration of the apparatus, and which allows for valid and reliable measurement of the parameters of the exercise.